Well, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. It was lovely, actually. We managed to squeeze everyone around a long skinny table, and we had almost enough matching place settings, although it was a bring your own chair affair. The turkey (brined in maple, with rosemary-butter under the skin) came out beautifully, and we had far more side dishes than we could eat thanks to everyone’s generosity. The wine was good, and my mom brought four glorious, enormous pies for the ten of us. There’s still half an apple pie and two cups of freshly whipped cream in my fridge, calling my name pretty much every time I walk by.

And then today? I did almost nothing. I mean, I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I did some online furniture shopping from the comfort of the couch, I wrote, and I worked my way through a pile of Bon Appetit magazines, so not nothing. But, it was cold and gray and rainy and for the most part I indulged in a full day of sloth (with a short, one hour exception for a bracing run that actually felt really good). After this year (and let’s be honest, last year too), I could use about two weeks of days like this. But the next two days are a good start, and I’m going to use the pause to share a few recipes here, starting with this Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew.

We had a dinner party recently, with a few friends. I’m so happy we’ve entered the dinner party stage of our lives (coinciding with the “hosting Thanksgiving” stage of our lives). What a lovely thing, to sit with friends around a table full of home-cooked food, to drink good wine and talk for hours. I served this Tunisian lamb stew, and I loved it so much that I made it again a week later to share here.

I go through phases where I want to come up with all my own recipes – phases during which I feel unstoppably creative and can’t stop jotting down ideas to test in the kitchen. But I also go through phases where all I want is to cook other people’s recipes, testing them exactly as written, respecting all of their hard work and creativity in developing them for me to eat and enjoy. This fall I seem to be more in the latter phase. More specifically, right now I want to cook my way through the “fall” section of Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which might be my all time favorite cookbook. Reading through the table of contents makes my mouth water, particularly in the fall section where it seems that all of the year’s best produce comes clashing together to be stewed and simmered and roasted to perfection in hearty autumn meals. Grilled Duck with Creme Fraiche, Roasted Grapes, and Potato Bacon Gratin? Braised Chicken with Saffron Onions, Italian Couscous, and Dates? Grilled Tuna with Potato-Tomato Gratin and Rouille? These recipes make me want to hideaway in my kitchen and cook for the next month.

The second time making this lamb stew, when I wasn’t also trying to make a Pumpkin Streusel Cake and a fancy Kale Caesar Salad and put out appetizers, this was actually relatively easy to make. I skipped a few minor steps and consolidated the number of pots and pans used to reduce clean-up, but generally stayed pretty true to the recipe, and it was very manageable for a slow Sunday afternoon. It’s spicy and intense and exactly the sort of homey but slightly exotic dish I want to be putting on the table during these dark November days.

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More from Sunday Suppers at Lucques:

Ricotta Gnocchi with Corn, Mushrooms, and Sage Butter

Fig and Almond Custard Tart

First-of-the-Season Summer Succotash

Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew with Farro, Parsley, & Harissa

An incredibly flavorful North African lamb stew with a lot of spicy kick!

Recipe adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 TBS caraway seeds
• 1 TBS ground coriander
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smahed
• 3 chiles de arbol, cut into small pieces (easiest with scissors)
• 2 tsp parika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 TBS olive oil, divided
• 2 small onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• fresh juice from 1 lemon
• 4 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 large Italian eggplant
• Farro with parsley and butter (recipe below)
• harissa paste, homemade or store bought, for serving
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, minced
• Sea salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Place the lamb in a bowl or a large ziploc bag with the cumin, caraway, smashed garlic, arbol chiles, paprika, cayenne, and 2 TBS of the olive oil. Season generously with sea salt. Use your hands to coat the lamb with the olive oil and spices, making sure to coat all the pieces. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, or zip up the plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight.
2. When ready to cook, take the lamb out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Add 2 TBS of olive oil to a large Dutch oven or wide pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add the lamb (and its marinade) to the pot in a single layer (if the lamb does not fit in a single layer without crowding, do this in two batches). Sear the meat until it’s well browned and caramelized all over. Don’t rush it! You want the lamb to develop a nice, dark brown color. As the lamb is browned, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a plate.
3. When all the lamb is browned, turn the heat down to medium and add the onion and bay leaves to the pot. Saute until onions are tender and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the lemon juice and cook 2-3 minutes, just to coat the onions. Add the beef stock and cinnamon to the pan and bring it to a boil.
4. When the stock is boiling, turn off the heat. Add the browned lamb to the pot. Cover with aluminum foil and a tight fitting lid. Braise the lamb in the oven for 3 hours.
5. About an hour before the lamb is done, cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Toss them with a teaspoon of sea salt and place them in a colander over a plate or bowl. Let them soften and drain for about 20 minutes. Heat the remaining 2 TBS olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the cubed eggplant and cook, turning frequently, until it is seared on all sides and tender, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess olive oil.
6. After 3 hours, check the meat for doneness – it should be falling apart and super tender. Taste the stew for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired. At this point, you have two options. The easy option is to add the fried eggplant and the minced parsley to the lamb as it is, then serve. The second option, if you want a more elegant presentation, is to ladle most of the lamb’s braising juices out of the pan, and pour them through a strainer into a second pot. Discard the vegetables and keep only the strained juices. Skim the fat from the juices, then reduce the juices over medium heat until thickened. Add the reduced juices back to the stew, along with the eggplant, then stir in the minced parsley. Serve.
7. To serve, divide the farro between bowls and ladle the stew on top. Serve with harissa on the side.

Farro with Parsley and Butter

Recipe adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Serves 6.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups farro
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 TBS butter
• 1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the farro, stir to coat with the olive oil, and toast for 2 minutes. Then, add 8 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender.
2. Drain the farro and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Add the butter and the parsley to the hot farro and stir until the butter is melted and the parsley is fully mixed in. Serve warm.

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I’m home! It’s lovely to be here, truly. I have one more trip to Chile the last week of August and then it looks like I might be here for six weeks. Six weeks! After the year I’ve had, that is my idea of the ultimate luxury – it will be the longest stretch of time that I’ve had at home all year. Fingers crossed that nothing changes and it actually happens.

I needed this weekend. A weekend with no work, no house projects – just hanging out with Trevor and doing summery things. I think it might be the first weekend we’ve had like that all summer – June and July were consumed with packing and moving (and a long weekend in Colombia thrown in there), plus a few trips to Maine which is one of my favorite favorite things to do but is not the same as being at home, doing home things. We checked on the garden, spent a few hours at the beach, took a long Sunday afternoon nap, and ate plenty of good, summery food. It’s really nice just to be together, too – absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that stuff.

After visiting the garden, which is sort of in disarray since it hasn’t exactly been a priority this year, we used the handful of tomatoes we picked and the eggplant my dad brought us to make a quick caponata for lunch. Caponata is a lovely way to use up August produce – it’s easy, herbal, doesn’t require you to turn on the oven, and is as good cold as it is hot. It can be tossed with pasta, or simply slathered on a good piece of sourdough along with a dollop of creamy ricotta. We opted for the latter serving method and it was perfect.

Sicilian Eggplant Caponata

Adapted slightly from Green Kitchen Travels. Serves 4.

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 large handful basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 large handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 large handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes, cut into large pieces
• 3 TBS capers, drained
• 16 green olives, cut in half
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 loaf sourdough bread, for serving
• 1/2 c. ricotta cheese, for serving

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the eggplant, red pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season with sea salt. Saute until eggplant is beginning to brown, about 5-8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, onion, basil, parsley, and mint to the pan. Saute until onion is soft and herbs are wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, and apple cider vinegar and cook until veggies are soft and saucy, about 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
3. Cut sourdough into thick slices, and spread each slice with a thick layer of ricotta. Top with a heaping spoonful of the caponata and serve. Caponata will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

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The Book: When Hillary Davis reached out to me about reviewing her newest book, French Comfort Food, it was the middle of summer, and the days when I’d be craving French Onion Soup and Coq au Vin seemed almost too distant to imagine. Now that we’ve seemingly catapulted from fall straight into mid-winter (Snow? On Novemebr 2nd? The worst) though, French comfort food seems like exactly the sort of thing I want to be pulling out of my oven, and I’m glad to have a copy of this book to turn to. These are classic recipes – nothing fancy or convoluted here. Many of them will be familiar to the average American cook: cheese souffles, leek and potato soup, croque madames, bouef bourguinon. For many, these are the dishes that first come to mind when we think of French cooking – in a way, the dishes feel almost retro, meals that would have been a hit in upscale restaurants during the 80s. But of course, they have all been timeless classics in France for centuries. For classic bistro food that will stick to your ribs without complicated preparations or expensive ingredients, this book is a great resource.

The Food: The first recipe I made from French Comfort Food was a vegetarian shepherd’s pie that used a ratatouille sauce instead of ground beef as the flavor base. I made it mostly because it was a time when our fridge was overflowing with tomatoes and eggplants and it seemed as good a way as any to use some up. I added the ground beef back in, used our freshly harvested potatoes, and didn’t skimp on the cheese. It turned out great – we ate half in the first day, and froze the second half for a rainy day. I was planning on featuring a different recipe for this post, because shepherd’s pie just isn’t that French, and I’d already made it so I thought I should branch out. But then, last weekend turned out to be that rainy day, and the reheated leftovers were so good that I knew I had to share the recipe with you. So here it is: not particularly French, not particularly vegetarian, but definitely comfort food. Make a big batch while there are still eggplants and peppers hanging out at the markets and be sure to freeze some for that unknown future time when you’ll really need it. I do have to note – while I usually try to stick to the letter on recipes when doing book reviews, I took all kinds of liberties with this one to suit my tastes. I’m telling you this so that you know that it’s a forgiving recipe, so feel free to adjust a bit here and there. That said, the brilliance of this recipe – using a meaty vegetarian ratatouille sauce as the base instead of beef – is all Hillary’s.

Recipe Shortlist: Ramekins of Salmon, Wine and Shallots; Caramelized Onion and Roquefort Clafoutis; French Rolled Omelet with Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan; Perigord Garlic and Chicken Soup; Normandy Pork Chops with Apple Brandy Cream Sauce; Gascony Roast Leg of Lamb with Anchovies and Garlic

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of French Comfort Food from Gibbs Smith, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Ratatouille Shepherd’s Pie

Adapted from French Comfort Food. Serves 6-8.

• 3 TBS olive oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, stem and seed removed
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• 1 medium eggplant, stem removed, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of chopped canned tomatoes, or 3 small fresh tomatoes, cored and cubed
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 2 TBS flour
• 6 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 TBS butter
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, leaves from the rosemary and thyme, carrot, and eggplant and saute until beginning to soften, another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix the tomato paste and flour together in a small bowl, then stir into the ratatouille mixture until fully incorporated. Let sauce cook until eggplant is tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While the sauce is cooking, place the quartered potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Season generously with salt, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain potatoes. Add butter and milk to potatoes and mash or blend potatoes until very smooth but still stiff enough to hold their shape, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more milk if you’d like the potatoes to be smoother. Stir 1 cup of the grated cheese into the potatoes and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly oil a 9×13 casserole dish. Spoon the sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish. Wipe out the saute pan and return to medium heat, then add the ground beef to the pan. Cook until browned all over, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the grease from the pan, then spoon the cooked beef evenly on top of the sauce. Next, spread the mashed potato mixture evenly over the top of the beef, using a spatula to smooth it out to meet all the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the casserole, then place the casserole dish on a baking sheet (to catch any bubble ups) and place in the oven. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

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Finding the time for these Sunday Dinner posts is harder than I would like it to be. Perhaps part of the problem is that I tend to choose rather elaborate menus that take all afternoon to prepare and shoot, but that’s also part of the fun. When we finally did another Sunday Dinner a few weeks back, its origins were mixed – it grew partly out of the feeling that it had been far too long, partly out of the need to use up the huge stacks of garden produce in our fridge, and partly out of a desire to celebrate that same summer produce at its very peak.

This Sunday Dinner is the first we’ve done that is entirely vegetarian, but with gorgeous stacks of Eggplant Napoleon as a centerpiece to the meal, meat was not missed in the slightest. I’ve been eyeing this particular eggplant recipe since early spring, when I reviewed Olives, Lemons, and Za’atar. Back in March, the bright stacks of fried eggplant layered with baba ghanoush and pesto seemed impossibly summery, products of a season that felt like it might never come. But come it has, and now the sun-soaked afternoons and baskets of tomatoes are too quickly fading into cool breezy evenings and the first ripe pumpkins. We do still have plenty of nice weeks ahead of us – it won’t do to get nostalgic prematurely – and we’re still cooking up a storm with the weekly haul from the garden. Our homegrown eggplant was the star of the show in this meal, and we rounded things out with piles of maple-roasted cherry tomatoes on ricotta-slathered crostini and a gorgeous pie made with the last of our blackberries.

Eggplant can be a little labor intensive to prepare well, and this recipe was no exception. A lengthy process of salting, drying, marinating, breading, and frying may feel a little like overkill, but results in an incredibly flavorful and tender eggplant. There are a number of other components to the recipe as well – the pesto marinade, the baba ghanoush, and a tomato and pesto salad that gets served on top of the final dish. The recipe calls for about seven lemons – we felt that using three was sufficient – and the acidity of the final dish is powerful, but works nicely with the savory crunch of the eggplant slices and the smokiness of the baba ghanoush. I’ve written the recipe here with a few shortcuts to save time and effort, but the end result should be equally flavorful and elegant as the original.

On the other end of the labor intensive spectrum are the super easy crostini we had as an appetizer. We make a big batch of maple-roasted cherry tomaotes pretty much every week during August and September, roasting them the day they’re picked then using them on top of pastas and meats and eggs throughout the week. Once the oven is on, I sometimes throw another vegetable or two in to avoid heating up the house more than once – the week I made these crostini, that other vegetable was a few heads of our freshly harvested garlic, roasted into a sweet paste. The roasted garlic got mixed into some good thick ricotta, slathered on hot baguette, and topped with the candy-sweet tomatoes. It was so good and so easy.

The final element of our dinner was a big slice of mixed berry and maple syrup pie, which I wrote about in detail a week or so ago. It was a pie that I had been dreaming about since the first blackberries ripened, and it exceeded all my expectations for it. A big slice of the juicy pie, supported with a flaky buttery crust and topped off with a melting scoop of vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect close to our late summer dinner feast.

The Menu

Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini – see recipe below
Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons – see recipe below (adapted from Olives, Lemons & Za’atar)
Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

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Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.

• 1 recipe of maple-roasted cherry tomatoes
• 3 heads of garlic
• 1 c. of ricotta
• 1 baguette
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper

1. Prepare the maple-roasted cherry tomatoes. While they are roasting, roast the garlic as well: slice the tops off the garlic heads so the cloves are partially exposed. Place the heads in a piece of tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt. Close the foil into a pouch, and roast until soft, about 45-55 minutes at 350°F.
2. Remove the garlic from the oven, and let cool until comfortable to handle. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the papery shells into a bowl, and mash with a fork. Mix the roasted garlic with the ricotta, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the broiler. Slice the baguette into thin rounds, then place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops and bottoms lightly with olive oil. Broil the toasts until golden brown, about 5 minutes total, flipping once halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. To serve, spread the ricotta mixture onto the toasts and top with a spoonful of roasted cherry tomatoes.

Eggplant Napoleon

Recipe adapted from Olives, Lemons, and Za’atar. Serves 4-6.

Note: This version of the recipe is slightly simplified. The full original recipe is available on Epicurious.

For the baba ghanoush:

• 2 medium eggplants (2 lbs total)
• 1/2 c. tahini paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBS pomegranate molasses
• 3 TBS olive oil

For the fried eggplant:

• 2 medium eggplant, cut into rounds
• sea salt to taste
• 1/4 c. basil pesto
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• juice from 2 lemons
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2 c. panko
• 2 TBS grated parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• vegetable oil for frying

For the tomato salad:

• 4 plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
• 1/4 c. of finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 c. basil pesto
• juice from 1 lemon
• 3 TBS olive oil
• sea salt to taste

1. Prepare the baba ghanoush: Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pierce the eggplants all over with a fork and place on the baking sheet. Roast until skin is blackened all over, turning the eggplants with tongs every 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop the soft eggplant flesh out into a large strainer. Let drain for 20 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Mash the eggplant with a fork, then stir in the tahini, garlic, lemon, pomegranate molasses, and olive oil. Adjust seasoning to your taste.
2. Prepare the fried eggplant: Place the eggplant rounds on two large baking sheets and salt liberally. Set aside for 30 minutes, then pat the slices dry with a paper towel. In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Add the eggplant slices to the bowl, toss to coat, and let marinate for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
3. To bread the eggplant, prepare your workspace: place the flour on a large plate, whisk the egg whites together with 1 cup of water in a shallow bowl, and mix the panko, grated parmesan, dried parsley, and black pepper together on a large plate. Set a piece of waxed paper to the side of your workspace. Working with one slice of eggplant at a time, dredge the marinated eggplant slices in the flour, gently shake off the excess, dip it in the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko on both sides. Set on the waxed paper and repeat with all of the eggplant slices.
4. Heat a large frying pan filled with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Fry the eggplant slices in batches, frying 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown all over. Remove to a paper towel lined platter and repeat until all eggplant is fried.
5. To prepare the tomato salad: mix together the chopped plum tomatoes, chopped red onion, pesto, lemon, and olive oil in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt.
6. To serve, place one slice of the fried eggplant on a plate, then spread with a few tablespoons of baba ghanoush. Repeat twice more, building a layered stack of eggplant, then top with a few large spoonfuls of the tomato salad. Serve immediately.

The post Sunday Dinner // Ricotta and Cherry Tomato Crostini, Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons, and Blackberry Pie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence, the folks behind The Chubby Vegetarian, do some seriously creative things with vegetables. Think Baked Potato Skins with Smoked Coconut Bacon, BBQ Eggplant, Tomato Pie and Pimento Cheese, and  Italian-Style Eggplant Sausages to get your mind moving in the right direction. The Chubby Vegetarian was one of the first blogs I stumbled upon back in the day and it is continually a source of inspiration, so when I saw that they were publishing a book, The Southern Vegetarian, I knew that I’d have to check it out.

The food served up in The Southern Vegetarian is loaded with classic, All-American appeal. Not every recipe is particularly Southern – sloppy Joes, meatballs, and bran muffins all fall pretty solidly into the general American food category in my mind – but the ones that are bring me straight back to the rich, saucy, flavorful dishes I enjoyed while living in North Carolina. Except, all the meat has disappeared – and I don’t think you’ll miss it. Need proof? How does this menu sound to you: Bourbon with Basil and Lemonade Granita, Okra Fritters with Creole Mushroom Sauce, Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Eggplant, and Grilled Peach Ice Cream? Southern through and through, packed with spice and flavor, and fruits and vegetables are doing all the hard work. Plus, as you flip through the book thinking about whipping up a menu like this, you’ll find a photograph with every single recipe – always a good thing!

Unlike many of the vegetarian cookbooks I find myself gravitating toward, The Southern Vegetarian is not about keeping vegetables raw or barely processed and making them the only thing on the plate – i.e., you’re not going to find a lot of veggie and whole grain salads or gluten-free vegan raw breakfast bowls. Much more frequently, you’ll find that vegetables have simply infiltrated a dish where you would be expecting meat, and all the other rich flavors are still in play. In some cases, this means using tofu, seitan, and other meat substitutes as a replacement for the main component of a classic dish, like using seitan in a Vegetarian “Chicken” Pot Pie. Since I’m not a vegetarian, but simply enjoy cooking with vegetables, this is not my favorite type of recipe – if I want chicken pot pie, I’m just going to have chicken pot pie. However, other times, the way they accomplish meat replacement is genius, like using sausage spices to give eggplant that same smoky flavor, or using liquid smoke, hot sauce, and Worcestershire to make a convincing vegetarian gumbo.

Although they aren’t particularly Southern, I made these crispy eggplant sandwiches as a test recipe and they were seriously delicious, in a very satisfying, comfort food sort of way. I also made some (much more Southern) savory cheddar-pecan cookies with spicy pepper jelly, which were great as well, but for now let’s focus on the sandwiches. I chose to go the super homemade route with these – homemade tomato sauce, homemade breadcrumbs, even homemade ricotta (out of necessity!) – and they came out amazing, but I have the feeling they’d be just as good using mostly store-bought ingredients. And if that were the route you chose, you’d have an easy, satisfying, flavorful and balanced dinner to serve in under forty minutes. The eggplant really does get quite crispy, and the roasted garlic and ricotta spread makes the meal feel richer than it really is. As a bonus, making this recipe taught me a new, quick way to roast garlic – dry roast individual cloves in a hot skillet while still in their papery skins. Worked like a charm!

A quick note about the ricotta – when I opened the fancy high-end ricotta I had in the fridge while making this recipe, I gave it a whiff and quickly tossed it in the trash. Going back to the store wasn’t an option, but I happened to have all the ingredients you need to make ricotta (milk, heavy cream, vinegar, and salt) on hand, so I decided to go for it. It came out better than the cheap stuff I get at the store but not as good as the expensive stuff I get out the store – it was sweet and mild but a teeny bit rubberry. Although making ricotta from heavy cream and milk feels a little bit wasteful (ricotta is usually a byproduct of making a different cheese – it is made from the leftover acidified whey), it was definitely a great quick fix.

The bottom line: The Southern Vegetarian turns vegetables into serious omfort food. The recipes included here are rich, saucy, and flavorful, and will be definite crowd pleasers, especially in true vegetarian households. Non-vegetarians looking to increase their vegetable intake will also find recipes of interest, but they may not appreciate the classic meat recipe “re-dos” as much as vegetarians will.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of The Southern Vegetarian from Thomas Nelson. I was not otherwise compensated and all opinions are my own.

Crispy Eggplant Sandwiches with Roasted Garlic Ricotta Spread

Adapted slightly from The Southern Vegetarian. Serves 4-5.

• 3 c. torn pieces of fresh French bread
• 1 TBS Italian seasoning mix (or 1 tsp dried parsley + 1 tsp dried oregano + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp salt)
• 1 medium globe eggplant
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• olive oil
• 4-5 ciabatta rolls
• 1 c. arugula
• 1 c. warm tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 c. roasted garlic and ricotta spread (see below)

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place French bread pieces and Italian seasoning in a food processor and pulse until the bread has broken down into fine crumbs. Pour onto a dinner plate and set aside.
2. Wash the eggplant and remove the stem ends. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper.
3. Set up two bowls next to the breadcrumb plate – one with the flour and one with the beaten eggs. Dredge each eggplant slice in the flour, tapping off the excess, then dip in the eggs, then coat with breadcrumbs. Place on a baking tray. Drizzle with a small amount of oil (about 1/8 of a teaspoon per slice).
4. Bake eggplant for 15 minutes, then flip each slice over and drizzle the opposite side with olive oil. Bake for another 15 minutes then remove from the oven. Coating should be golden brown and crispy.
5. To assemble the sandwiches, place a handful of arugula leaves on top of the bottom bun, then cover with 2-3 slices of eggplant. Drizzle a spoonful of the warm tomato sauce on top of the eggplant and sprinkle 2 TBS of parmesan cheese on top. Spread the garlic and ricotta mixture on the top bun, then close the sandwich and serve.

Roasted Garlic Ricotta Spread

Recipe adapted slightly from The Southern Vegetarian. Makes about 1 cup.

• 5 cloves of garlic, skin left on
• 1 c. whole milk ricotta, homemade (see below) or store bought
• 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Place the garlic cloves with their skin on in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast, flipping occasionally, until skins have started to blacken and garlic is fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Let them cool, then remove the skins – the inside of the clove should be soft and roasted.
2. In a small bowl, mash the roasted garlic cloves with a fork, then mix with the ricotta and the parmesan. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Easy Homemade Ricotta

Adapted from Anne Burrell via The Food Network. Makes about 1 cup.

• 2 c. skim milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 TBS distilled white vinegar
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

1. Mix the milk, heavy cream, vinegar, and salt together in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring infrequently just to ensure that nothing is sticking to the bottom or sides of the pot. Once the milk has reached a simmer, simmer for 1-2 minutes – curds will form continuously as you simmer the milk.
2. Place a sieve or strainer lined with damp cheesecloth over a large bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the strainer, and let drain for 15 minutes. After it has drained and cooled to a point where it is comfortable to touch, gently squeeze out any remaining whey from the ricotta. Unmold from the cheesecloth and serve, or store in the fridge.

The post Book Club: The Southern Vegetarian // Crispy Eggplant Sandwiches with Roasted Garlic Ricotta Spread appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Remember the lovely books from Yvette Van Boven, Home Made and Home Made Winter? Well, lucky for us, Yvette has just released a third book, Home Made Summer, which is just as inspiring as the first two books. And, to celebrate the book’s release and the beginning of summer eating, I’ve teamed up with Abrams Books to giveaway a set of all three books to one lucky reader! Giveaway details are at the end of the post, but first, some thoughts on the latest in the series. Giveaway now closed, congrats to Jen (comment #5) on winning!

When I reviewed Home Made Winter last fall, the post, and Yvette’s recipe for French Beef Stew, quickly became one of my most popular posts, with many of you trying out the recipe and coming back to let me know how you liked it and what you changed. I think the popularity of that post is really a testament to the quality and appeal of Yvette’s recipes, which is ultimately what keeps me coming back to her books. From her Winter cookbook, I made the beef stew, a delicious apple quinoa cake, and white chocolate lattes, and was pleased with all three. And now, from Summer, I’ve made the Polenta Pizza with Spicy Ratatouille (recipe at the bottom of the post!), and the most delicious Sparkling Cava Sangria (recipe soon!) and was amazed by both recipes. The polenta pizza was the most summery comfort food I’ve ever tasted, flavorful and rich without being too heavy. I devoured it. And the sangria, which uses fresh grapefruit juice and sparkling white wine, was a huge hit at my birthday party – the two pitchers of it were the first thing to go, even before the blackberry margaritas. Since we’ve only just fully entered spring, I’m sure many more recipes will grace my summer table before I switch back to winter food – at the top of  my list are the Quinoa Patties with Feta, Zucchini, and Corn, the super refreshing sounding Avocado, Cucumber, and Lime Shake, the Italian Chicken Stew with Grilled Goat Cheese Polenta, and the White Wine Sorbet. Summer is such a delicious time.

Style-wise, Home Made Summer stays true to the other books in the series. These books don’t stick to the serious, elegant, bucolic ideal that many cookbooks aspire to represent these days. Instead they are whimsical and lighthearted, full of little sketches, snapshots of Yvette’s many home countries, and cheerful type. Flipping through them is a bit like getting to take a peak inside someone’s kitchen notebook, except all the recipes have already been thoroughly tested and come out flawlessly.

If you’re interested in meeting Yvette, she’s currently on book tour! She’s already departed from the East Coast, but if you live in California, she’ll be holding several events in and around San Francisco over the next few days:

• April 18, 12pm – Rakestraw Books, Danville
• April 19, 6:30pm – Draeger’s, San Mateo
• April 20, 3-4pm – Omnivore Books, SF
• April 21, 1pm – Book Passage/SF Ferry Building demo
• April 22, 7pm – Books Inc, Berkeley

The bottom line: The three books in the Home Made series are whimsical, fun, and packed with delicious recipes, and Home Made Summer is no exception. The recipes in this book are the essence of summer, with heavy use of all the season’s best vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and flipping through the book makes me dream of picnics and barbecues. The recipes strike a great balance between being simple enough not to need hours of your time and tons of advance planning, but creative enough to remain interesting to experienced cooks, so I can heartily recommend it to both groups.

Giveaway details: To enter to win a copy of Home Made, Home Made Winter, and Home Made Summer, all you have to do is leave a comment below letting me know what summer food you are most looking forward to eating this year. By entering, you are agreeing to the official rules as listed here:

• No purchase necessary
• Void where prohibited
• One entry per household, and only entries answering the question above will be considered!
• The sponsor of this giveaway is Abrams Books
• The estimated retail value of the three books is $110
• The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received
• This contest is only open to U.S. Citizens over the age of 18
• The contest will open today, April 18th at posting time, and will close at 11PM EST on Wednesday, April 24th
• The winner will be selected randomly and contacted via email (so please leave an accurate email address!). If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours, the winner forfeits their prize and an alternate winner will be chosen.
• I will post the winner here by Friday, April 26th

Giveaway now closed! Congrats to Jen on winning.

Disclaimer: Abrams Books sent me a review copy of Home Made Summer free of charge, but I was not otherwise compensated for this review and all opinions, as usual, are my own.

Now, after all that legal mumbo jumbo, how about that polenta pizza with ratatouille recipe?!

Polenta Pizza with Spicy Ratatouille

Recipe from Home Made Summer. Serves 4-6.

• olive oil for the pan
• 1 TBS salt
• 1 1/4 c. polenta
• 4 c. water [Katie’s note: or chicken stock for extra flavor, but omit the salt if using]
• 3 TBS butter
• 1 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 recipe spicy ratatouille, cooled to room temperature (recipe below)

1. Oil a 12-inch round cake pan or pizza pan. Add the salt to the 4 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour in polenta in a thin stream, stirring constantly until smooth. Lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, whisking constantly, until polenta is thick with no lumps. Depending on the type of polenta you use, this could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes (instant polenta will cook up much more quickly than regular polenta, if you’re in a rush).
2. Remove the cooked polenta from the heat and immediately stir in the butter and 3/4 c. of the parmesan, stirring until fully melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour into the oiled cake pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or spatula (dip the spoon in water if it is sticking to the polenta). Let cool completely so that it is solid (you can stick the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to accomplish this if you’re short on time).
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Top the polenta with the ratatouille, leaving about 1/2 an inch of polenta exposed around the perimeter of the pizza. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 c. of parmesan, and bake for 25 minutes, until the edges are brown. Let cool slightly so that it’s easier to slice.

Spicy Ratatouille

Recipe from Home Made Summer. Makes about 3 cups.

• 3 TBS olive oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, stem removed and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium eggplant, stem removed and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 big tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 TBS harissa (adjust according to the spiciness of the harissa you’re using)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 3-5 minutes, until soft and light brown. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, thyme, and harissa, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables are all tender. Sprinkle with the parsley prior to serving.

The post Book Club: Home Made Summer // Polenta-Ratatouille Pizza and A Giveaway! appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Gardening  season is winding down.  Our raised bed is barely getting 3 hours of sun a day, the last few tomatoes are ripening, and while I’m still hoping for the brussels sprouts to actually produce their sprouts, I’m not holding my breath.  It’s a little bit sad, but we’re already taking notes and daydreaming about everything we’re going to do next year.

This first year of gardening has been a roller coaster, if you can believe me that gardening qualifies as something in which I have a large enough emotional investment to describe it as a roller coaster.  It’s had extremely fulfilling moments – snacking on super-sweet sun-ripened grapes on my way out the door in the morning; moments of defeat – pulling the umpteenth San Marzano off the vine with more blossom rot; and moments of triumph – a flush of new growth on my lovely lemon tree, despite it having been close to death from a mealybug infestation a month before.  Our most successful crop was probably the cucumbers, which took over the raised bed, climbed up and over the 8 foot fence, and produced at least a dozen mammoth cucumbers.  Our least successful?  The broccoli, as it was the only crop that produced nothing at all, despite some hopeful moments early on.

Success or failure, I think it’s safe to say that both Trevor and I derived a lot of satisfaction from the whole experience.  So much satisfaction, in fact, that we’re upgrading.  My dad has (so nicely!) agreed to share the cultivation of his “back 40” with us.  There’s already a sizable vegetable plot, a dozen or so fruit trees, a raspberry patch, well-established grape vines, and blueberries, with plenty of sunshine and room for expansion.  Since my family spends the majority of the growing season in Maine, having us around to take care of the garden means they might get more than one measly peach and a glut of over-sized kale each year, and for us, well… owning land is not something that we are close to accomplishing, so having a spacious plot to play around with is the equivalent of winning the garden lottery.  Needless to say, we’re excited.

We’ve spent the last 7 or 8 Sundays at the Andover garden, getting a handle on things and caring for a fall crop of beans, peas, beets, and carrots.  Spending a few hours outside working in the dirt – sometimes dripping sweat as you shovel and rake, sometimes peacefully pulling weeds from between the carrots – is deeply satisfying.  It’s also a great way to be with Trevor, working quietly side by side, each with our own task but the same ultimate goal.  I’ve wondered once or twice if gardening is just a fad for me – will I still be this enthused next year? – but it seems so natural to work with the earth that it’s hard to imagine moving on.

Plans for next year are a constant source of conversation – should we add a melon bed?  What structures need to be replaced?  Do we want to add more fruit trees? – but for the time being we’re mostly concerning ourselves with clean up and harvest.  In particular, we’ve had a bumper crop of eggplants (which is in no part due to our efforts, as my dad put them in long before we showed up), and I’ve been struggling to eat my share.  I’ve had my eye on a recipe for Lamb and Eggplant Stew with Farro, Parsley, and Harissa in Sunday Suppers at Lucqes for a while now, but every time it comes down to it, I’m just too busy to put together the multi-day recipe.  Instead, I used the flavors of that dish and a little inspiration from Tender to put together this quicker, vegetarian version.  Eggplant gets roasted with a chile-garlic oil, then added to nutty wheat berries, parsley pesto, and a bit of whipped goat cheese.  It’s balanced in both flavor and texture, and makes an interesting and healthy vegetarian main course.  Feel free to play around with the components – would feta be a better counterpart, or perhaps a traditional basil pesto?  Should the wheat berries be dressed in a chile-paste to amplify the heat? – to see what works for you.  And let me know if you try any variations!  Or if you can think of a better name than I could…

Roast Eggplant, Parsley Pesto, Goat Cheese, and Wheat Berries

Serves 3-4.

• 2 large globe eggplants
• 1/3 c. + 1/4 c. olive oil
• 7 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tsp harissa or chile powder (may need more or less depending on the heat level of your chile powder_
• sea salt
• 2 c. uncooked wheat berries, cooked according to these directions
  
• 3 c. fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 c. pine nuts or walnuts
• 4 oz. soft goat cheese
• 1/2 c. heavy cream

1. Wash and dry the eggplants, then slice into 1 inch thick rounds.  Salt both sides and set on a baking pan for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.  In a food processor, blend 6 cloves of the garlic, 1/3 c. oil, and harissa until a smooth paste is formed.  Use a paper towel to wipe salt and liquid from the eggplant slices, then cut the slices into 1 inch cubes.  Brush the eggplant with the chile-garlic oil, coating all pieces, then sprinkle with salt.  Roast for 40 minutes, stirring eggplant pieces about half way through.
3. Cook your wheat berries while the eggplant is roasting according to directions in link.
4. Make the pesto: In a food processor, blend 1/4 c. olive oil, remaining 1 clove garlic, and nuts to form a paste.  Add parsley and blend until fully combined.  Taste and season with salt if desired.
5. Place the goat cheese in a bowl and use a whisk or fork to break it up.  Add the heavy cream, and whisk together until a smooth, thick cream is formed.
6. Place a scoop of wheat berries in each bowl.  Top with a few spoonfuls of pesto, a scoop of roast eggplant, and a dollop of whipped goat cheese.  Serve hot.

The post Garden: Roast Eggplant, Pesto, Whipped Goat Cheese, Wheat Berries, appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Last weekend was a busy one for me.  My cousin’s wedding (congratulations, Danny and Amanda!) was the big event, and I spent most of the weekend catching up with family, drinking margaritas, dancing till my feet hurt, and traveling to and fro.  By the time I got home Sunday afternoon, I was exhausted.  So exhausted, in fact, that the idea of putting together a blog post for my 5pm deadline for Greatist was pretty daunting.  Which is about the time Trevor came to the rescue.  As I sat at the kitchen table bemoaning the state of my creativity as well as the contents of my fridge, half-heartedly throwing out ideas, (“all I have is one eggplant.  I’m just going to cut it up and put it in the oven and call it a day.”), he became a man of action.  He grabbed the eggplant, sliced it, salted it, and began actually doing the things I was musing about (“maybe eggplant chips.  Maybe rub them with garlic like bruschetta.  No, maybe brush them with garlic oil.  And let’s have a sauce.  With basil.”)  By the time he was done saving the day, I was inspired, and these garlicky eggplant chips had just come out of the oven.  I snapped a few pics, and the blog-crisis was solved.

These chips, though, man were they a good spur of the moment creation!  Crispy, super-garlicky and flavorful, and hot out of the oven they were better than any potato chip I’ve had in a long time.  Plus, they’re made from eggplants, which are loaded with health benefits and low calorie, and they’re baked (always better than fried, even though eggplants do soak up quite a bit of olive oil as they bake).   All in all, a super delicious snack or appetizer.  I couldn’t stop talking about how much I liked them as we walked to dinner that night, although once I got to dinner I started talking about that… so maybe I just like food. :)

Head on over to Greatist for the recipe!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Garlicky Eggplant Chips with Basil Yogurt Sauce appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Udupi-Style Risotto with Dal

Adapted slightly from The Dance of Spices.  Serves 6.

• 1 c. Arborio rice
• 1/2 c. yellow split peas
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• 2 TBS chopped cilantro leaves and stems
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium Yukon gold potato, washed and cubed
• 1/2 a large eggplant or 1 small Japanese eggplant, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut in 1-inch pieces (about 3/4 c.)
• 2 TBS tamarind concentrate, dissolved in 1/2 c. water
• 1 recipe rasam powder, recipe below
• 2 TBS butter

1. Combine rice and split peas in a bowl and cover with cold water.  Soak for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse twice.  In a large saucepan, combine rice, split peas, 3 1/2 c. water, and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until split peas are tender, about 30 minutes.  Turn off heat and let stand, covered.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add mustard seeds and asafetida, and cook for about 1 minute, then add cilantro, turmeric, onion, potato, eggplant, carrots, bell pepper, and broccoi, and cook, stirring for 3-5 minutes.  Add dissolved tamarind liquid.  If needed, add more water to almost cover veggies, then cover pan, and cook over medium heat until potato is tender, about 8-10 minutes.  When potato is tender, season with salt and add the huli anna powder as well as 1 c. water, stir to combine then pour over rice and split pea mixture.  Stir to combine, then cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, to allow the water to be absorbed.  Mix in 2 TBS of butter, and serve hot.

Rasam Powder

Recipe adapted from The Dance of Spices.

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 TBS coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 10 fresh kari leaves
• 1 small, hot dried chile (such as a Thai chile), stemmed and broken into rough pieces
• 1/4 tsp asafetida

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add coriander, cumin, peppercorns, fenugreek, kari leaves, and chile pieces.  Toast, stirring constantly, until the seeds are beginning to brown and the leaves are beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add asafetida and cook for 1 additional minute.  Transfer mixture to a mortar and pestle (or electric spice/coffee grinder) and pound or grind to a powder.

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I came home from Andover with a lot of produce on Tuesday night – besides a giant bag of apples, I also had an armful of eggplants, a bunch of kale, and fresh herbs, all scavenged from the Andover garden.  Now, free produce is free produce, and I was as excited about it as I always am about free food (or free anything, really), but I was a little perplexed by what to do with 8 eggplants.  My rate of eggplant consumption is generally about 1 per month, not because I don’t like it, but because I only have one or two ways of preparing it – the first being roasting it and tossing it with pasta and feta, the second being baba ghanoush.  These are both delicious, but I don’t like cooking or eating the same thing too frequently (except when it comes to breakfast, where my weekly repertoire of recipes never exceeds two), so I wanted to try something new with my bounty.

Turns out, I actually had several eggplant recipes already bookmarked (it’s hard to keep track of the recipes you have bookmarked when you have over 500 of them, and it can be so exciting to rediscover them), so I set about trying a few.  Eggplant cream sauce, vegetarian eggplant meatballs, baked eggplant chips, Turkish eggplant phyllo pies – where to start?  It was Saturday afternoon, I was extremely hungry after a 6 mile run, I wanted to blog and use up some of my produce, but I only had an hour before I had to leave to catch a train.  So, I decided to try these quick Indian eggplant snacks – called Beguni.  They’re just thin slices of eggplant, dredged in a gently spiced chickpea batter, and fried hot until the batter is golden brown and the eggplant is tender.  Having never been to India, I can’t personally attest to this, but from what I’ve read, they are an extremely popular street food item sold mainly during monsoon season.  (It rained a lot yesterday – does that count?)

They ended up being the perfect solution.  Super easy to both prepare and cook, I had a hot, tasty snack within 15 minutes of deciding to make these, and I even had time to snap a few photos, and make sticky figs (coming soon!).  This may not be the healthiest way to enjoy eggplant, but it’s definitely delicious, and certainly a departure from my standard eggplant recipes.  If you’re looking for a new way to prepare eggplant, a quick afternoon snack, or a tasty appetizer to an Indian themed dinner, these are definitely worth trying.  And be sure to fry up any extra batter as a treat for yourself rather than dumping it – it’s super yummy by itself, although not as good as with hot, creamy eggplant inside!

Beguni – Bengali Eggplant Fritters

Adapted slightly from Ecurry.  Serves 1.

• 1 small Chinese eggplant, 6-8 inches long
• coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. chickpea flour
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 c. water
• canola oil
• fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick.  Lay out on a tray or plate and sprinkle with salt, and let sit ten minutes.  Rinse off salt and pat dry.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together chickpea flour, turmeric, chili powder, and baking powder until thoroughly combined.  Add water and beat until batter is smooth.  Batter should be thick but still fluid, so that it stays in a thin layer on the eggplant when dipped in it.  Add more water or chickpea flour as necessary to get the right consistency (after frying a test fritter, I found that the batter needed a bit more water than the original recipe called for, which is reflected in the recipe above).
3. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  When it is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices in the chickpea batter and place in the pan, leaving space between the fritters.  Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook another minute and a half.  Fritters should be golden brown on both side, and eggplant should be tender in the center.  Sprinkle with sea salt and serve hot.  I really enjoyed eating them with a fresh mint leaf pressed on top of each fritter, but I doubt that this is traditional.

The post Beguni – Bengali Eggplant Fritters appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

In July, the Belmont gym was remodeled.  This caused little to no excitement for me.  Then Megan came home from her inaugural use of the facility and announced that every single machine has a built-in TV.  Excitement levels have spiked.  Motivation is rampant.

So, the next morning, I happily made my way to the gym, climbed on a treadmill, and proceeded to simultaneously exercise and watch a history channel special on ancient alien encounters.  Yes, I still had to move in order to burn calories.  Yes, I still sweated.  So you could say the system isn’t perfect.  But, while moving and sweating I learned that Noah, of Ark infamy, was actually the product of an alien genetic experiment to purify the human race, and was conceived through artificial insemination.  It says so in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  And the Ark itself?  An alien DNA bank.  Duh.

This gym experience was life-changing for me.  Who knew you could be enriched on so many levels by a simple machine?  So, while I generally detest the gym because it makes a run seem about 4 times longer than it would outside, the temptation of more episodes of ANCIENT ALIENS may keep me coming back, at least while it’s still too hot to run outside at any time other than 5 am.  Rah rah treadmill.

In the spirit of all this exercise, I was going to offer you a cake.  To be specific, a chocolate cake with toffee mousse, chocolate ganache, and toffee bits.  But then I realized I didn’t actually have all of the things I needed to make this sinful and completely inappropriate for my diet/a post about the gym dessert.  What I did have was some getting-mushy-in-the-fridge-I’ve-been-saying-I’ll-use-them-for-five-days-in-a-row-now eggplant and tomatoes.  So we’re going the healthy route.  Maybe I’ll still make that cake sometime.  But in the meantime, I’m getting skinny and eating vegetables.  Stuffed with cheese.  Just to be contrary.

I’m not sure why I put making this off for so long – it ended up being super quick and easy to throw together, even including making my own fresh tomato sauce.  With bottled sauce it would be a 30 minute dinner, with about 10 minutes or less of active time.  On top of that, it’s fairly healthy (see bottom for nutritional analysis), yummy, and comforting.  All in all a solid weeknight dinner.

Eggplant Cannelloni

Serves 4, Inspired by SELF

• 1 medium eggplant
• cooking spray
• 6 oz. goat cheese
• 8 oz. whole milk ricotta
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 recipe fresh tomato sauce from Chez Pim, or bottled sauce of your choice

1. Remove stem and 1 inch of bottom from eggplant.  Slice lengthwise and soak for 15 minutes in heavily salted cold water.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cheeses, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley.
3. Spray both sides of eggplant slices with cooking spray, or brush with olive oil.  Lay flat on a baking sheet and broil for 7 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  Remove eggplant from oven, turn temperature down to 400°F.  Place 2 tablespoons cheese filling on the bottom third of each eggplant slice.  Using tongs, roll to third and middle of eggplant slice over cheese filling to form your cannelloni.  Bake eggplant cannelloni for 10 minutes.
4. While eggplant is baking, prepare Pim’s Fresh Tomato Sauce or heat up bottled sauce of your choice.
5. Serve eggplant with tomato sauce and additional fresh parsley on top.

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Nutritional Analysis: (Estimated using SparkPeople’s recipe calculator):

340 calories per serving (based on  four servings using the linked tomato sauce recipe); 22.9 g fat, 5.4 g fiber, 17.4 g protein.

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